Step forward for new bridge linking Inverness Campus and retail park

Tenders are being invited by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to design and build a new bridge linking the north end of Inverness Campus with the Inverness retail and business park.

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The bridge will cross the main Inverness-Perth railway line and enable access for pedestrians, cyclists and buses to and from the east of the city, avoiding the busy Raigmore interchange.

This progress is another milestone in the development of Inverness Campus which was opened to the public by the Deputy First Minister John Swinney three years ago today (15thMay).

HIE is leading the development of Inverness Campus, one of Scotland’s most innovative projects, on land it purchased ten years ago. The 215-acre site is designed to provide a range of commercial, research and academic opportunities, with an emphasis on the life science sector.

Inverness Campus provides community facilities for use by the wider public. A 20mph zone prioritises cyclists and pedestrians across the site. An average of 2000 pedestrians and cyclists per week already cross the existing Drumrosach bridge linking the south end of the Campus to the retail and business park.

HIE is progressing plans to have the new bridge in place by summer 2019.

Ruaraidh MacNeil, HIE’s project director for Inverness Campus, said: “From the very start of our development of Inverness Campus we have incorporated low-carbon transport options.

“Excellent footpaths and cycleways are already in place. The new North Bridge will enhance this by adding a new public transport route into Inverness for those travelling from the east of the city.”

Inverness Campus is already home to seven private companies including Scottish Vet Referrals, Corporate Health International, Organlike and Aqua Pharma, as well as public organisations such as Inverness College UHI and Scotland’s Rural College.

There are more than 600 people working at the Campus and job creation is this figure is expected to be substantially boosted in the next few years as new projects develop. Over 6,500 full and part-time students are taught at Inverness College UHI.